If They Had
by somanygalaxies
Summary: Sabo had no idea what he signed up for when he promised to travel with his brother's crew. Now they are stuck on an island with a nasty habit of having two parallel universes meet each other. Well, at least now he knows what would have happened if the brothers had set sail together.
1. Trick of the Eye?

_"When the world shoves you around, you just gotta stand up and shove back. It's not like somebody's gonna save you if you start babbling excuses" -Zoro _

The walls creaked as the hammocks shuffled about. Each crew member slowly rolled out of their respective sleeping areas and made way to the deck. It was odd, but, for some reason, everyone aboard had an internal alarm that woke them up after sunrise.

Luffy folded his arms behind his head as his eyes darted around the grassy deck. A wide grin grew on the rubber boy's face when his gaze meet the familiar top hat of his older brother. "Sabo," he cheered and raced to the older male.

Said blond spun around with an amused chuckle. "Still hyper in the mornings as always, eh, Luffy," he sighed as rubbery hands latched onto him and tumbled him to the floor. Sabo refused to let his eyes shut when the urge to sleep came over him. If his eyes shut now, he wouldn't wake up for a while, and dammit, he would not let Luffy eat his breakfast.

"Shishishi," the younger brother laughed and pulled both himself and his brother up, "Sanji! Meat!" He ran towards the blonde cook in the kitchen.

Sabo sighed at the raven haired teen. No matter what happened the previous day, his kid brother always awoke with the sugar high of a five year old. Well, at least breakfast would be soon.

It had only been a few days since the Dressrosa, and the crew could only ponder what let their captain run around like caffeinated child. Dressrosa was a long ordeal that no one on board wished to bring up. Needless to say, Luffy being Luffy, asked the revolutionary to join his crew when it was all over.

Luckily, Dragon, showing his human side, allowed the twenty two year old to travel around with his son for a few weeks. He had jumped for joy as he was able to fulfill his younger brother's request.

"Breakfast!" The shout resounded throughout the Thousand Sunny, and nine bodies raced towards the kitchen.

As Sabo entered, he heard a mix of various loud phrases. It manly contained: "Luffy!" "Mademoiselle~" and "Luffy, keep your hands away from my food!"

All Sabo could do was laugh at the scene. If this had been any other crew, he was pretty sure everyone would be kicked off the crew. His brother's crew was defiantly fitting for one such as his brother.

"Oi, Nami," Luffy called to his navigator after the meal, "When is the next island?" In the distance, an island shaped blob could be seen.

Truth be told, the boy hated long trips. He thrived on adventure, and only the new islands to explore gave him that. After the first few days on long trips, the crew often grew irritated at Luffy's moaning and boredom- not that they would voice that out loud.

"A few hours, Luffy," the red head answered as she peered into the horizon.

Luffy cheered in response and placed his beloved straw hat on his head.

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><p>A few hours lasted an eternity for the exhausted straw hat crew. No one had the energy to shout a protest to the rubber boy when he flung himself onto the island.<p>

Sabo could only sigh as he disembarked the ship and followed after him. "Luffy," the blond called out, "wait up!" The revolutionary ran up to the jumping teen. They then made their way into the forest that rested on the edge of the beach.

The teen bounced around the trail, and the older tapped the pipe against his shoulder. Out of the three, Sabo was the only one who kept to their favorite weapon.

The thought of the pipe brought up a memory that the older male thought he had forgotten for the past years.

_"Hey, Sabo," ten-year-old Ace said. He reached the blond boy and sat down beside him below a tree._

_Sabo glanced at the raven haired kid before speaking up. "I was thinking," he stated, making sure he had the other's attention, "fist fights don't tend to be in favor of those our age, so why don't we start using a weapon of sorts."_

_The freckled kid looked at the blond with some sort of shock. "I thought we were doing fine," he mumbled, slightly offended that his fighting skills were not enough._

_"No, that's not it," Sabo defended while shaking his hands in front of him, "it's just that they are twenty plus and we are ten. No matter your superhuman strength, the odds are not in our favor."_

_Ace lost his heated glare and took on a look of confusion. "Well, what were you suggest we use?" He questioned._

_The soon-to-be-revolutionary smirked. "I was thinking something around the lines of a pipe or pole," he answered as he leaned back on the tree._

_The freckled thief blinked in confusion. "Why a pipe? A gun or sword would be more dangerous-" he began._

_"For a normal person," the runaway interrupted with a hand on the raven's mouth, "but for you, it would be an extension of yourself. Unlike a gun, you increase your strength through it, and it's like a hard metal slap."_

_Ace grinned, letting the boy see one of his rare smiles. "Sounds like a plan!" He said as he grabbed the blond's wrist and dragged him away._

Sabo bit back the tears that threatened to fall. He would not let one escape, Luffy needed someone strong.

The blond was not deaf; he had heard the whimpers that sometimes came from the boy's hammock. Sadly, like the rest of the crew, he could not just ask the Straw hat captain what was wrong. Luffy was not someone who let others know what was bothering him- he preferred to keep those things away from those he loved, so he did not bother them with his 'measly' issues.

One of these days, he was going to show that boy that they were not bothered by helping him.

Twirling the pipe, the revolutionary ran to catch up with his brother who seemed to get far ahead as the older went down memory lane. Luffy was swinging tree to tree, literally. Sabo sighed once again at Luffy's bubbling energy at the quite early hours of the day.

What was his kid brother on, because he sure as hell needed it.

He whacked a nearby tree with the pipe. The noise startled Luffy, for he twisted half his body around to face his brother. "Yo," is all that came out of the pirate captain.

"I have an idea," Sabo exclaimed and caught up with the hyper active teen, "how about we chase down some food for old times' sake?"

Luffy's eyes sparkled when he heard those words, and rocketed towards the blond who only stood a few feet away. Said blond groaned as he fell to the floor.

"Luffy," he scolded, "how many times do I have to tell you not to 'Gumo Gumo no Rocket' at people who are_ right next to you._" The straw hat captain only stuck his tongue in response with arms folded in a childish manner. "Luffy."

"Fine," the younger whined. He stood up, and for the second time that day, helped his brother up.

"Promise," Sabo pushed.

"Yes," the boy grumbled, letting his stubbornness slide for a moment.

"Good," the adult sighed before they headed in a random direction in the forest. He knew anything in this forest would be easy game for the duo and that not many large animals would be lurking around so close to a village, but it would not hurt to bring in some small creatures. Only God knows how the chef survived the bottomless pit that is his captain.

It did not take long to catch a few small rabbits and a fox that fell into their path. Much to Luffy's displeasure, Sabo had taken the job of catching those. His little brother could wait for bigger game.

Looking over at the horizon, the revolutionary could see the sun making its way past the trees. Time on this island must be different than most because he was pretty sure they had not hunted for almost five hours- more so two. Well, this is the New World, anything was possible.

"Hey Lu," Sabo called out to the teen who was shouting for a 'tiger lord' to come out, "I think it's dinner time."

The reaction was spontaneous. Almost immediately, the rubber teen pounced up, grabbed his brother's wrist, and dragged him towards the beach chanting 'meat, Sanji, meat!' Sabo simply rolled his eyes at the boy's antics. After one gets to know the boy, one would wonder how on earth he became such a wanted pirate.

Truth be told, Sabo knew some people thought the raven haired kid was just a figure head of the crew. Oh how wrong they are. Luffy was childish, but he was strong. Just hit the right nerve, and there is no mercy.

Before they reached the edge of the forest, Sabo noticed his brother was no longer following him. Looking back, the twenty one year old could spot the teen with his head twisted backwards. "Lu?" He asked, approaching the pirate.

That's when Sabo spotted it, a hand on Luffy's cardigan sleeve. The only thing that stopped him from rushing and slamming his pole on the opposing figure was the other's figure. Sure, he could not see the head, but he sure as hell would never forget that figure.

"Ace," slipped through the rubber boy's faraway look. Sabo then walked closer to Luffy (but still out of sight of his deceased brother's look alike) and clearly saw the confusion written all over the familiar male's face.

"Luffy, what the hell are you doing out here?" The man demanded, "I thought you were on the ship with Oyaji. And when did you get that scar?" The grip on Luffy's arm tightened as the Ace look alike decided to drag him away.

The straw hat boy's eyes widened before ripping his hand out of the older male's grasp and _ran._ This wasn't like his usual care free run, this was one dead set on getting away, and nothing could distract him.

Taking one last look at the man who looked like his brother, Sabo ran after Luffy. The look of pure and utter heart break that was on the freckled man's face would probably never leave his memory. His brother might be dead, but that face was _his_ and that look did not belong on his face.

"Lu, wait up!" The revolutionary shouted as he took to running faster. The pace of the boy slowed a tiny bit, but he was not going to stop. He would just have to wait until they hit the ship to calm his baby brother down.

Fortunately, the ship came into view only a few short (or to Sabo, an eternity) minutes later. He picked up the pace when he noticed Luffy slowing down to almost a complete stop. The blond soon found his way to a puffy red faced Luffy.

"Lu..." He trailed off, taking the soon-to-be-crying pirate into his arms.

Again, he was no idiot; he knew that Ace's death took a greater toll on his kid brother. He still hated himself for not being there to comfort the teen, but he was going to make it up. His brother needed him.

"Sabo," the boy sobbed, "I saw him," there was a sniffle, "I saw Ace, and he was mad. Do you think he was mad at me for not saving him?"

That sentence shattered the blond's heart. "No, Lu, he would not be mad at you," he soothed, rubbing circles on the younger's back, "he would be so proud of you for coming so far. I know what he would be mad at though."

He bent down and looked the rubber boy in the face. "What?" The pirate asked softly, not losing eye contact with the revolutionary.

"The fact you are crying and not running around having fun. He would hate to see you like this," Sabo explained truthfully. He may have not been with them for most of their life together, but he knew full well that his brother hated seeing the youngest crying. It did not take a genius to know that his punches were just so he would not have to see the kid crying.

Luffy rubbed his eyes. "I know," he sniffled, "but why was Ace here?"

Sabo frowned a bit at that question. What was a dead person doing here?

"Probably something that happens on this island," the blond thought aloud, "It most likely a trick of the eye that happens around here. We can ask your crew when we get to the ship, okay?"

Luffy nodded. A loud yawn escaped his lips as they made their way out of the forest.

"You're tired," Sabo pointed out. "Here, you can sleep on my back."

"But, dinner..." The boy yawned again, his energy spent.

Sabo smiled fondly. "I'll wake you up when it's ready," he offered. Luckily, the rubber boy did not protest and climbed his way into a piggy back ride from his older brother.

Soft snores soon came when the duo found their way to the Thousand Sunny as the sun was setting.


	2. Not-Ace

**I'm gonna try and post a chapter every few days, but school is annoying. Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, for it belongs to Eiichiro Oda<p>

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><p><em>"You can't bring back what you've lost, think about what you have now" - Jinbei<em>

A soft breeze greeted the brothers as they boarded the ship. All chatter immediately quieted down when they spotted the sleeping boy. "He used up his energy, as crazy as that sounds," Sabo explained in a hushed whisper.

Everyone one deck quickly got the message and made a path for the revolutionary to the mens' quarters. Sabo tipped his head in thanks before disappearing in the room.

He carefully pulled his brother into a bridal style carry and onto his hammock. The blond took a minute to debate whether or not to stay in the room, but eventually left. Luffy may have had a slight mental breakdown, but the boy could sleep on his own.

And Sabo really doubted that he would wake up any time before dinner. If there was one thing he knew about his brother, it was that he tended to sleep longer when he knew he would not miss a meal.

Walking to the grassy deck, Sabo was greeted with smiling faces which he returned. "I am pretty sure it's only four. It's not time for sun to set! What the hell," Nami grumbled as she fittled with a clock and the log posts.

"You are right, Nami-sawn~" Sanji sang and spun around the red head with hearts dancing around him. The older blond could see Nami's eye twitch at the chef's actions.

Zoro opened his one good eye. "Oi, ero-cook," he scuffed, "leave the witch alone and do me a favor and shut up. I am trying to sleep here."

Said 'ero-cook' removed his love filled gaze from Nami and to a heated glare directed at the swordsman. "What did you say, Shitty Marimo?" He growled, sending a kick to the man who simply blocked it the hilt of his sword.

"I said, shut up Mr. Nose Bleed," he taunted. They began their petty fighting, as usual, and their fighting spirits radiated off of them like a wild fire.

Sabo hurriedly walked away in a random direction. Soon, he met the railing that looked over the island. He squinted his eyes as he saw ruffling in the bushes. In a short moment, his haki felt a presence, but he was not completely sure who it was. Maybe it was the Ace look alike. Wait, no, that was only a trick of the eye, right?

Summoning over the closest crew member, Chopper, he quickly pointed over to the bush in question. "Don't you have Kenbunshoku Haki?" the reindeer asked. "Luffy told me you are able to sense people through it."

"I don't know the presence," he answered truthfully. In the corner of his eye, he could see the fluff ball motioning over the 'terrible duo' to take a better look at it.

Zoro closed his eye. "Someone is definitely there," he concluded as he focused on his haki, "feels familiar though."

Sanji took the cigarette out of his mouth and let a puff of smoke escape. "Someone should go check it out so the rubber baka doesn't wake up," he informed, flicking the cigarette butt into a nearby trash can.

That was one thing Sabo found interesting about this crew. He knew they respected his brother, but never seemed to show it. They go around punching him for trying to eat all the food in the storage, but at the same time, they would put their lives on the line to protect him. At times, he would see them treat the boy like the child he acted like. Kind of like a family, a very _odd_ family, but a family none the less.

That was rare to find in a crew. The only other crew openly like that (which came to mind) was the Whitebeard Pirates, but that never was any secret.

"For once I agree with swirly brow," Zoro stated as he held a hand on Shusui. "I'll go."

Once he started his leave, the younger blond blocked his way with a fierce kick. "Maybe we should pick someone more qualified for the job, Marimo," he said smugly.

Said 'marimo' glared at the chef. "Like you are one to talk, number seven," he replied with a slight hiss.

Sabo was ready to let his head fall on the railing, and he was not the only one annoyed- Nami looked as if she was ready to punch them over the head.

Another useless brawl, seriously.

Before the petty arguing could go too far, a flash of fire caught their attention. Looking over to the beach, a single beam of fire was seen briefly and then vanished. A growl from behind them soon came, and everyone turned to face a very much alive second division commander.

"What the hell?!" Everyone on board screeched.

Usopp began muttering things about zombies coming for their brains, and Chopper and Brook were freaking out next to the long nosed marksman. It would have been quite the comical scene if it was not for the seriousness of the situation.

Sabo could feel the headache coming.

A heated glare came from the Ace doppelganger. "Where is Luffy?" he growled, making sure his killing intent reached everyone in a five mile radius.

Zoro took this as his time to speak up after overcoming his shock. "What do you want with my captain, imposter?" he demanded with his own killer intent matching the familiar male's.

Not-Ace, as Sabo now dubbed him, clenched a fist as he ran up into the swordsman's face. "I saw Luffy running here with a fearful face, so you must have threatened him to keep him here," he explained with a snarl. "And I am here to get him back." His fist lit on fire when he prepared to punch the green haired male. He did not succeed as planned, though, for the first mate blocked the blow with a haki infused shusui.

Zoro gave a sly smirk. "I am in no position to give up my captain to a man who is supposed to be dead," he replied when he pointed Sandai Kitetsu at the raven haired male.

"You bastards-" Not-Ace started to growl, but was interrupted by the loud sound of a door being slammed.

All heads turned to see the straw hat wearing boy who stood outside the mens' quarters. He had wide eyes as he took in the situation. If one was close enough, they would hear him whisper 'Ace' under his breath.

Shaking his head, the supernova looked Not-Ace in the eye. "Who are you?" Luffy asked in a dangerously calm tone. Anyone who knew him would know that he was not taking shit if he spoke like that.

Not-Ace's face faltered. "I'm your brother, Lu," he answered softly.

"No you're not," the younger raven informed harshly, "Sabo is over there." To prove his point, he pointed to the previously hiding blond who waved sheepishly.

The freckled male blinked his eyes, as if to hold back tears. "What do you mean, Lu?" Not-Ace's words came out shaky. "Did they erase your memory or something? Did they do it to Sabo too?" His stance became one of a protective sibling.

"They wouldn't do that, they're my crew!" Luffy defended with a hard glare. He may look like his brother, but no one, _no one_, insults his crew. Not-Ace was taken aback by this and seemed to back away from the stern swordsman.

"Luffy," a strangely soft voice spoke up. Robin walked up to her captain while holding a book in her arms. "I think I may know what is going on here, but it would involve Ace over there."

The pirate captain nodded at his archeologist before looking back at Not-Ace. "You can come, but only if you promise not to harm my crew," he stated with a serious tone. Once Not-Ace nodded in reply, Luffy let his goofy grin once again take over his face. "Yosh! To the Galley!"

Each crew member took one last glance at the freckled man as they walked towards the Galley. There was an odd silence when everyone was seated in the Galley- one that was rare among the strawhats.

"Ace," Robin was the first to speak up, "would you mind explaining to us the events leading up to your arrival here?" The question was not the one many of the straw hats expected to be asked. They were expecting more of a 'who-are-you- and-why-do-you-look-like-someone-who-is-dead' question.

Not-Ace blinked. That was not what he was expecting either. "Well," he started to answer, "Oyaji said we were low on supplies, so we were going to make a quick stop here. I was sent by the fire turkey to gather information while Lu and Sabo stayed on board for some reason. I think he said something about not wanting to pay for rebuilding a village again."

"Then I got lost in the forest, and Lu here ran away when I told him he was supposed to be back on the Moby Dick. Now, I would like to know why he is here with you."

"Because, he is not the Luffy you are talking about," Robin explained. She soon continued when she saw the confused looks around her. "I read a book on this island while Luffy and Sabo were exploring. It contains many interesting stories on events that have occurred to people who docked on this island."

"Are there plant eating zombies? Oh, is there talking snowmen?" Luffy asked with sparkling eyes. Everyone, save Robin, groaned and let their heads fall to the table.

The dark haired archeologist gave a soft chuckle. "I'm afraid not, Luffy," she answered. "I read in here that there are many occurrences of people meeting themselves while exploring."

Sabo tilted his head. "Like carbon copies?" he wondered aloud.

Robin shook her head. "More like alternate selves. People they would be if they changed part of their lives," she replied. "It is said that not everyone has seen themselves. The theory is that if they changed something in their lives, they would be nowhere near the Grand Line, much less the New World."

"Does that mean…" Sabo trailed off as his eyes darted from Ace to Luffy.

Robin shut the book she was previously flipping through. "I don't think so, Sabo," she hummed, "Ace mentioned something about you back on his ship."

The revolutionary rubbed his head in his hands. "So many things could have happened for it to be like that," he groaned, "It could be Garp's fault for all I know." He brushed a hand through his hatless hair and sighed.

Not-Ace grumpily leaned back in his seat. "What I want to know is what happened to make Lu forget his own brother," he stated with a sour tone. Unbeknownst to him, the rubber boy flinched,

"Ace," Sabo found himself scolding. Old habits die hard, he guesses.

Luffy adjusted his old straw hat so it shadowed over his eyes. The boy stood up and walked out of the room, his previous cheerful demeanor gone without a trace.

Not-Ace blinked at the sudden departure. "Uh…" he stuttered, no real words coming out. He really had no idea what he said to upset his not-brother. The boy _might _be a counter part of his brother, but he knew full well that Luffy _never_ did that without being seriously unhappy.

Standing up from his seat and heading for the kitchen, Sanji turned to eye Not-Ace. "Do us a favor," he warned as he lit a cigarette, "and don't mention your counterpart in front of our captain." With that, he strolled out of the Galley with an agreeing crew in tow.

"Oi! Brook," Usopp called out to the afro skeleton once they were on deck. Upon the head of the ship, Luffy could be seen lying on top of it with his straw hat over his face. Not-Ace did not feel comfortable with his (not so) baby brother like that.

The musician spun around to face the long nosed boy. "Yes, Usopp-san," he responded with a tip of his hat. Brook then leaned on his sword-cane.

The marksman grinned. "Bink's Sake!" he said with humorous –and fake- authority dripping in his words.

If the living dead man could, he would be wearing a wide smile. "On it," he sang as he drew his trusty violin out of nowhere.

Not-Ace had no idea what happened, but the moment the first chord was strung, everyone began singing along. In the middle of the song, Sanji kicked the kitchen door open while holding a giant platter filled with multiple varieties of food.

"Party!" Luffy cheered when he jumped off his perch on the Sunny's head and over to the newly made food stack. Soon enough, Zoro too walked over to the food placement but reached for the booze that sat on the rail beside it.

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><p>The party lasted until the last few hours of the night. All in all, it consisted of the 'idiot trio' stuffing chopsticks up their noses, a drinking contest (which Sabo strictly forbidden him from entering), a mass amount of catchy songs, and many more simply crazy ordeals.<p>

Not-Ace groaned as he tried to stand. He really should not have stayed so long, Oyaji would be worried, and no doubt so would his Sabo and Lu. Looking over the horizon, the smallest peak of a sunrise could be seen over the crowding tress.

"Shit, it's morning already," he muttered. The freckled man tried to move once again, but found a raven haired head laying on his lap. Not-Ace smiled and brushed a hand through the boy's unruly hair.

"Seems like he fell asleep on you," Sabo chuckled. The blond came over and gently picked up the sleeping boy. "Nami, the navigator, says we will be moving to drop anchor closer to port. Turns out the locals are indifferent to pirates."

"Hm…" the younger male hummed. "I've gotta get to Oyaji…" His words slurred with an escaping yawn.

Sabo shifted the straw hat captain, so he was in a more comfortable sleeping position with his head in the crock of the blond's neck. "How about you wait until we reach port," he suggested to the older raven, "Even though Lu seemed a bit harsh at first, he would probably want you to stay a bit longer."

Not-Ace took a glance at the peacefully sleeping rubber boy before sighing. "I guess I could," he claimed, walking behind his brothers' counterparts as they trotted off to the male sleeping quarters.

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><p><strong>Oh, I was wondering, do you guys want me to use the Japanese terms or the English ones? Thanks!<strong>

**Also, **I would like to thank Fi Suki Saki for pointing out the Robin does not use '-san' and the such. I went back and edited that, thank you!****


	3. Some Differences

**And I am back and with a full weekend to write! Also, I would like to thank Fi Suki Saki for pointing out that Robin does not use '-san' and the like.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Eiichiro Oda does**

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><p><em>"No one is born into this world to be alone" —Jaguar D. Saul<em>

If Not-Ace said he did not enjoy the welcoming vibe of sunflower lion mixed ship, he would be lying. Even though this was (maybe, he reminded himself) his brother's counterpart, it fit the boy's personality. He may be from a universe different from his own, but Not-Ace knew his brother.

Not-Ace was pretty sure if Luffy had sailed off on his own, this would definitely be something like his crew. No doubt he would recruit the cyborg and skeleton in a heartbeat. The second division commander still was not all that comfortable with those two- not that his crew was one to talk.

No matter how much confirmation the book gave on their situation, Not-Ace was still not completely convinced. He had to get back to Oyaji and the others to see if indeed this Luffy and Sabo were not his Luffy and Sabo. If the people on board this ship had lied to him, at least he had Pops there to help rip them apart for hurting his brothers.

Sitting up from his perch on the grassy deck, the freckled man scanned the surrounding area. The sun was now positioned right above the towering trees and leaving a sparkled in the vast sea. Only a few crew members were up and about- namely the green haired swordsman, the dark haired archeologist, and the cyborg.

The dark haired lady, whom he learned was Nico Robin (the demon child? Only Luffy's crew), informed him that the others would be awake and wreaking havoc soon enough.

Truth be told, he became quite bored after Sabo and Lu went back to sleep, and the pirate prince just could not do the same.

Not-Ace grabbed the orange cowboy hat that was positioned beside him and place it on his wavy haired head. He smiled at the familiar feeling of the hat upon his head. Like his brother, his hat was a treasure.

The memory that came to mind, though a bit odd, widened his smile.

_"Ace!" exclaimed an eight-year-old rubber boy. He tried, and failed miserably, to rocket himself at his brother. In the end, he ended up head first in a tree._

_The grumpy older boy sent a soft glare at the younger who was trying to get his head out of a hole in the tree. "Yes?" he replied whilst twirling his pipe._

_Luffy yanked his head free and toppled over. "Oi, Ace," he greeted with a hand behind his back. The boy was grinning ear to ear._

_Ace narrowed his eyes at the hidden hand. "What's behind your back?" he questioned, rare child-like curiosity flowing through his words._

_"Well," he began to explain, slowly moving his hand into view. "I got this for you!" When his hand moved into eye sight, a bright orange cowboy hat was clutched in the young boy's tiny fist._

_"Me?" he asked in disbelief. Lu continued to do things he would never expect. No one ever got him anything, ever._

_Luffy nodded. "Mhm," he hummed, standing on his tip toes to put the hat on the taller male's head. Said taller male helped him put the bright hat on his head._

_Ace blinked in surprise at the gift. "Why?" he wondered aloud. It was not like it was his birthday or something._

_Luffy's grin never left his face. "Well, Sabo and me have hats, but you don't, so I got you one," he informed while mentally congratulating himself on the good find._

_It made sense; Ace gave the boy credit for that. "Where did you get it?" Ace could not help but ask – he had been doing that a lot this conversation. After living a year with the straw hat wearing boy, he had learned that Luffy did not tend to do things the normal, and sometimes legal, way._

_"Oh," he began looking at the hat, "there was this old guy sleeping in town, and it was next to him. He wasn't wearing it, so I too it. Do you like it?"_

_"Yes, Lu, I like it," he complemented before possessing what _exactly _the young boy had said, "Luffy!"_

Not-Ace chuckled at the memory. They never did find the original owner of the hat. None the less, he took care of the orange monstrosity as much as Luffy did him straw hat.

He looked over to the beach and then to the endless sea waves. The salty air swept in, ruffling the mop of raven hair.

Soon, he found the man he was looking for- the blue haired shipwright. It was Franky, right?

"Um…" he trailed off, not sure how to greet the towering cyborg.

"Hm," the other hummed before turning around, "Oh, hi Not- Ace-bro." During the party the night before, most had come to calling him Not-Ace, much to his protests.

"Hi," Not-Ace responded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He really had no idea what to say. The pirate prince knew the crew was not mad at him –they actually seemed to love him-, but he still did not know what to say to the odd crew. Not matter what, he could not make a bad impression – he already threatened them- on his _probably_ counterpart brothers' crew.

That was one of the many questions that flooded his mind- How was the _younger_ brother the captain, not the older.

Where was he, leaving his brothers alone?

What about Oyaji?

_Why did Lu have such a scar?_

When Not-Ace thought about it, the scar looked a lot like a burn mark. Glancing down at his hands, he flinched. Is that why Lu reacted so harshly to him at first, because he caused it?

He shook his head of such thoughts. If his counterpart had harmed the boy, he was pretty sure he would have been thrown overboard the moment he set foot (more like made a flashy appearance) upon the deck.

No doubt Sabo would be the first to do so.

"Need anything Not-Ace-bro?" Franky asked in a honestly worried tone.

Oh, right, he had gained the attention of the shipwright.

"I was wondering when we would start heading to port," he replied to the cyborg.

Said shipwright scratched his hammer. "We are waiting for captain's conformation," he answered, "Can't do things without the captain's _super_ orders." The male struck his usual pose before heading off to fix up random dents around the sturdy ship.

Not-Ace sighed and shook his head. Everyone had their quirks, just; Lu's crew had some odd ones.

Scratching his head under the hat, the freckled commander made his way to the kitchen. Hopefully there would be coffee on his ship- preferably out of (stretching) reach of a certain rubber boy who already had enough energy to fuel a navy vessel.

Upon entering the kitchen, he was greeted by the curly eye brow blond flipping pancakes. Not-Ace gave a mock salute in return, and went straight towards the coffee. Luckily, there was some already in the pot, a bit on the cold side though.

Sanji quickly noticed the shirtless man picking up the coffee pot filled with room temperature caffeine. "I can heat it up," he offered, placing his pancakes to the side. Just as he was about to grab the pot, he was shooed by Not-Ace.

"I can heat it myself," he responded, letting his hand on the bottom of the pot heat up a bit before going back to normal. "I'm the Mera Mera no Mi user."

The blond, who was mentally scolding himself for not remembering, nodded his head. "That right. It's been a while since we last saw you use it," he explained. It had been two years; it was true. Truth be told, they were all no accustomed to Sabo setting things on fire rather than hearing about the pirate prince doing so.

Not-Ace sipped the black coffee. "I have it here too?" he questioned, spinning the drink slowly.

"It's complicated," Sanji replied with a tone that suggested dropping the conversation. That which it did.

Not-Ace drank the last of his coffee in the silence. Even though it was a bit boring, he enjoyed the time to roam the happier parts of his mind.

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><p>Luffy awoke not soon after the smell of bacon swept through the air. His cheerful shout spurred the rest of the sleeping members out of their slumber. No matter how long they shared the same ship with their captain, no one ever got used to the sudden wake up calls. They really needed to put an air lock on the kitchen door.<p>

The boy ran out of the room in the blink of an eye. Not soon after, and irritated Sanji kicked the male out of his kitchen, shouting something along the lines of 'wait until it's ready, rubber baka.' Luffy never did learn, did he?

Not-Ace looked onto the event with indifference. On the Moby Dick, Thatch tended to do the same to his little brother when he tried to steal food before it was ready. He was pretty sure that any cook who worked would do the same. The boy acted like a child anyways.

Luffy pouted as he sat on deck. "Meanie Sanji," he grumbled, arm crossed in a childish manner. "I just wanted meat." He fell back on the grass and continued to moan about meat.

Sabo looked on the scene and rolled his eyes. It had been twelve years, and Luffy still acted the same. That is what made him Luffy, and no one would ever change it- even if they did have to suffer under a child-like captain for their journeys.

It only took a moment for the captain to come back to life when breakfast was announced. Everyone bolted to the door, ready to scuff down their respective meals before the rubber hands took it.

Breakfast was uneventful compared to the day before; mostly because of the fact the insanity had to be died down a bit, so Nami could announce the day's plans.

They would first move the ship closer to port then, per Not-Ace's request, they would go meet up with the commander's reality's Whitebeard Pirates. Afterwards, they would go into town and get the supplies the needed before heading off.

Sabo quickly pointed out that since another Luffy was on board that ship too, they probably would not leave without another party and probably a duel between the two captains.

Not-Ace burst out laughing at the thought. "Lu? Fight Oyaji? You've got to be kidding me," he exclaimed between laughing fits. The man was clutching his stomach.

His laughter died down when he noticed no one else was laughing along with him. He blinked in surprise. Lu was strong, but he was not near a Yonko level, right? Oh, please do not tell him that thought he was.

"It would be fun to see who is stronger after two years," Robin mused, taking a sip of her tea.

"That would be a fight I would love to see," Brook exclaimed, "But I don't have eyes- skull joke, yohohohoho~"

Luffy started laughing at the over used joke. "I wonder if old mustache man is stronger too," he pondered, not letting himself think for too long. Thinking was hard, and it hurt his head.

Ace was still in shock that this crew had complete trust that their captain could match Oyaji. The old man was the strongest man in the world, for Oda's sake!

After a few more skull jokes and plates of food stolen, breakfast had ended in a more excitable way than when it began. Unlike what they usually did after their morning meal, all the Mugiwaras sat around on the deck.

"Oi, Ace!" Luffy called out to the commander. He was the only one who did not call him by the 'Not-Ace' title.

Not-Ace looked over to the hyper teen. "Yeah," he responded, eyes scanning the deck for any Mugiwara that had left yet. Nope, they were all still there; most sitting on the grass.

Luffy gave one of his usual ear to ear grins. "Can you tell us about your mystery world?" he begged the older male with his undeniable puppy dog eyes.

"Uh, sure," Not-Ace agreed, not sure he even had a say in the matter. He followed his younger brother to a seat on the edge of the circle the crew had made. The pirate prince looked over to the wheel to see the shipwright start to move the ship away from its current position.

He had at least a half an hour until he got back to Oyaji.

After a moment of pure silence, Luffy gave him an encouraging nod. "Well," he began, taking note of the cyborg that started to move the ship, "Were I am from, Luffy, Sabo, and I are part of the Whitebeard Pirates, and former co-captains of the ASL Pirates."

"I got to be a captain with you!" Lu exclaimed with fist pumped up into the air. That was his biggest dream he had when he was little- to go out to sea and form a crew with his older brothers. They could have been the pirate kings!

Sabo also seemed intrigued at this as well. How was he able to set sail with his brothers? Had Dragon let him go back?

Not-Ace either ignored or was oblivious to his not- brother's thinking faces. "Anyways," he continued, "We've been a part of the crew for four years now. I just made I to second division commander, my Sabo and Lu are my co commanders."

"I can't be the Pirate king if I am not the captain," Luffy pointed out, face red from thinking. Why was thinking so hard?

Not-Ace let an odd chuckled escape his lips. "I wouldn't say you are my _permanent_ co-commander, per say," he explained. He held a small smirk. "Luffy made a deal with Sabo and I. We made a deal that once he is able to beat Sabo or I that he can then go out and make a crew of his own. For now though, he's an honorary Whitebeard Pirate."

"I can beat Ace!" Luffy exclaimed, throwing a Haki infused fist into the air.

Sabo slammed his pipe into the rubber boy's head. "Don't go challenging everyone you see as strong!" The revolutionary and Mugiwaras shouted.

The captain rubbed the newly formed bump. "Meanie Sabo," he muttered while massaging the minor injury. He just had to use Busoshoku Haki, didn't he?

Not-Ace shook his head. "Since I have told you something about my side, how about you tell me about your side," he proposed. The freckled commander was quite curious about Lu's life without him.

Wait, this _might _be his Lu. Well, it was good to think on the positive side for once. He could tear them to shreds later if they were indeed holding his brothers here with wiped memories.

"Fair enough," Sabo agreed while placing his pipe next to him on the deck. Truth be told, he had no idea what to tell him.

All the crew members also seemed at loss for words. The only thing they could tell was different was that their Luffy had his own crew and that Ace was dead.

"Sabo is a revolutionary, and I am a pirate captain," the straw hat wearing boy said bluntly. He was not wrong, really, but the pure simpleness in his statement is what put the shocked expressions on his crew's (and brother's) faces. Luffy logic at its best.

Why were they surprised? This was Luffy. Whether it is two years or twelve, he always was the same.

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><p><strong>And done. I will be using the the Japanese terms. If you get confused, I can put a key at the bottom if you wish.<strong>

**'Til the next chapter!**


	4. Fire Turkey

**And I am back! Sorry for the long wait; I was at a loss of ideas for a while, but now I know where this is heading!**

**Anyways, I tried to make this chapter longer than the others, so I hope you enjoy!**

_**Beware, this chapter starts in a different POV than usual!**_

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: If I had owned One piece instead of Oda, this would be cannon and not on this site<br>**

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><p><em>"Pirates are evil!? The Marines are righteous!? These terms have always changed throughout the course of history! Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what's wrong and what's right! This very place is neutral ground! Justice will prevail, you say!? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!" ~ Donquixote Doflamingo<em>

Dark eyes glanced around the crashing waves that sparkled in the afternoon sun. The boy had long since abandoned letting his eyes searching the busy village and green trees.

"Luffy -yoi?" questioned a voice from behind. The raven haired boy twisted his head around to face a spikey haired blond. Immediately, he let the rest of his body twist around to be align with his head.

The dark eyed teen put a hand up in greeting. "Yo," he replied, "Pineapple-Head."

"Marco," the man stated in irritation, "my name is Marco -yoi." Had the boy not learned his name after two years? How simple minded was he?

Luffy pounded a fist in his hand with a serious expression. "Ah, Markie," he complied simply.

"Marco -yoi."

"Mikey."

"Ma-are-co -yoi."

"Marcy."

The phoenix sighed and let his head plump it into his hand. "Ugh, whatever -yoi," he groaned. Marco wondered why he ever cared, anyways. Luffy never pronounced his name right, and he never would.

"Shishishi," the younger laughed. "You sure are funny, Pineapple-Head."

Marco resisted the urge to strangle the kid. He had to remind himself that if he did, Ace would turn him to ashes and then burn those ashes. No doubt the whole crew would dance upon his remains as well.

Instead, he acted as if he never heard the nickname. "What are you doing out here, anyways, Luffy -yoi?" he asked. True, the boy never did stay on deck like this. Luffy tended to raid the kitchen and find someone to play tag with.

The boy let his eyes linger to the island they docked at. "Ace didn't come back," he explained somberly.

Ah, that is why.

Marco kneeled before the younger boy and placed a hand on top of the straw hat that rested on the boy's head. "You know," he began, "Ace probably feel asleep in the middle of the forest like the baka he is. He's most likely on his way back now with a burned animal for dinner- yoi."

Luffy looked up at him. "Stupid Ace," he grumbled. "He always falls asleep." In a very Luffy-like manner, he crossed his arms and looked up to the blond with wide dark eyes. "Can I have some meat? I'm hungry~"

The phoenix took his hand of the boy's head. "And we are back to food being the only thing on your mind, again –yoi," he chuckled, leading the boy to the mess hall.

Everyone had gotten worried when the boy did not turn up for breakfast. It sent them into full blown panic mode; Luffy never missed a meal. Sabo was of no help to what happened with his brother, for the older male was asleep after his late night watch.

No one had thought to check the back deck, the smallest of the decks. It was not a popular spot for people to just hang around, but there was nothing wrong with it. The Moby Dick was just too big; even for the size of the crew they had.

"Ah, there you are Luffy," commented the red haired chef as the kitchen doors opened. "I was wondering why you weren't at breakfast." He was flipping some food on the steaming pan.

"Thatchy!" the straw hat wearing boy cheered before clinging on to the older male. "Meat~" He used his usual wide puppy dog eyes to stared down the red head.

Thatch pried the grabby teen off himself so he could continue cooking. "I thought so," he said. Dashing to the other end of the wide kitchen, he quickly grabbed a large tray covered with a metallic lid. "Tada!" The red head lifted the lid to reveal a platter filled with an assortment of morning food, but Luffy only cared for a giant pile of bacon on the side.

Eyes sparkling, he reached for the plated in anticipation. "Thanks, Thatchy!" the younger thanked, devouring the food before him.

The chef pulled the first mate to the side. "Why wasn't he at breakfast?" he asked seriously. Thatch was one of the head chefs on the Moby Dick, and he knew the young boy never missed a meal- hell, when he was knocked out for two days after a battle, he complained about missing fifteen meals. Luffy had to be the biggest bottomless pit of the D's.

"Ace -yoi," he answered. The answer seemed to click in the man's mind, for he walked away to continue his cooking for the next meal. He had the whole crew to feed!

Luckily, this was not breakfast meal time, so the mess hall was barely occupied. Luffy was not able to stretch his grabby hands and steal the food of those around him. Whether anyone wished to admit it or not, deflecting and dodging the boy's rubbery limbs was great practice- even if it was during the meal times.

Luffy soon polished off the large meal with a satisfied sigh. "That was amazing!" he complimented loudly, patting his out stretched stomach. He really needed food. Damn, he was hungry!

Marco glanced at the fattened boy who was quickly reforming into his original shape. "I think Sabo should wake up right about now –yoi," he pointed out. Without even blinking, the straw hatted boy was out of the kitchen and in the wooden hallways.

"And he's gone," Thach observed, cleaning the large platter which Luffy left behind that barely contained a crumb on it. "Is he training with you today?"

Marco stepped out the door before answering the red head. "It's Sabo's turn," he explained. "With pipes, as usual, I believe -yoi." He gave a mock salute as he left the room. The blond had a rubber boy to find.

"Sabo~" Luffy sang while running down the wide hallways. He maneuvered around those who almost bumped into him. There was quite a lot of people on board the _Moby Dick._ Even though Luffy preferred to build a small crew, he would always admire the Whitebeard Pirates and their great numbers.

Luffy had no time to ponder what crew he would have; he first has to grow stronger and build a strong crew to beat this crew and Shanks' crew.

Soon, the rubber boy found his way to the second division men's quarters. "Sabo!" the boy called out again, using his abilities to stretch up to the blond's top bunk.

"What the hell, Lu?" slurred the older boy as he started to wake up. His eyes seemed a bit out of it as he glanced at his kid brother.

Luffy gave his signature grin that went ear to ear. "Today's your day," he explained, holding two pipes up for the older to see. Sabo's face grew a small smile as well when he saw the younger's contagious smile. It was no lie that most people who saw that that face that they would smile along with the hyper active boy.

Sabo rolled off the bed, seemingly forgetting that he was on an upper bunk. "Shit!" he cursed as he hit the wooden floor.

"Shishishi," Luffy giggled. "Silly Sabo~" The blond sent a soft, fond glare at the laughing boy.

Sabo sighed and dusted his pants. "I guess today is my day," he mumbled when the duo started their leave. The blond did wish for his brother to stay with him- with this crew, but he would do everything in his power to strengthen Luffy. He would not stand in the way of the boy's dream. If he did, what kind of brother would he be?

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><p>"Marco!" Thatch shouted as he ran his way up the deck. The red head had just returned from gathering supplies, huffing from the distance he had ran and the speed in which he did so.<p>

The said blond turned to look at the head chef. "Yeah –yoi?" he asked, usual irritation gone. His brother's tone sounded desperate, not in its usual pranking and joking manner.

The red head took a moment to catch his breath. "You would not believe what I found," he exclaimed, holding a rolled up parchment in front of him.

Marco shook his head. "That better not be another treasure map," he warned, "those things are a bunch of flukes –yoi."

Thatch grinned. Slowly unrolling the paper, his grin widened. "You doubt in me hurts," he said in a mock hurt tone. The chef was beaming when he finally finished unrolling the paper. He held it out for the first division commander to see.

"What -yoi…" the phoenix trailed off, no words coming to mind. In front of him was a bounty poster of their beloved kid brother.

**_Wanted Dead or Alive_**

**_Monkey D. Luffy_**

**_400,000,000_**

What the hell? The kid has not done much recently to raise it that high. No matter how you look at it, just being a Whitebeard Pirate would not give you that high of a bounty. You had to do some serious shit for something like that.

"I wonder why they raised it," Thatch's voice took him out of his stupor. "But isn't this great?"

The blond smiled. "The kid is kind of scary when pissed off -yoi," Marco thought aloud. Luffy might be the most protected (right behind Oyaji- but he would risk his life for the straw hat boy) brother, but when the younger saw a nakama hurt, he is merciless and no one can hold him back.

Maybe the government heard about that one incident where an enemy crew learned the hard way.

Thatch rolled up the parchment again. "We haven't let him join any big fights, or let him go batshit crazy in a fight yet," he replied while struggling to put the large paper in his pocket.

Marco nodded his head in agreement. "Oyaji will want to see this -yoi," he pointed out, reaching to grab the poster.

The red head held the paper above himself. "Nu uh," he waved a finger, "I want to show Sabo and Luffy first." Without a second thought, he ran towards the said duo's training grounds.

After having to rebuild the usual training room, the crew decided to build the trio of sworn brothers' their own training grounds. Rebuilding took too much time, money, and effort than the legendary crew was willing to give.

There was another thing that bothered Marco. Besides the fact of protecting Luffy, everyone agreed to make sure he got a low bounty, so when he did start off his career as a captain, he could raise one himself. If he went around with a bounty like four hundred million, it would be nearly impossible for the boy to gather a loyal crew.

Everyone and anyone would join his crew, and Luffy being Luffy, would allow all of them with his overly trusting nature. Someone was bound to back-stab the boy. True bonds were formed over knowing the captain, not his bounty.

They had to fix this.

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><p>Thatch maneuvered through the ship with top grace. One does not become the fourth division commander without being to do as such. "Yo, Sabo, Luffy," he greeted as he came to the training grounds. The boys held their respective poles with light sweat beating down their foreheads.<p>

Must have been at it for a few hours then.

"Thatchy!" Luffy cheered as he once again latched himself on the older male. Sabo was chuckling in the background.

As he finished chuckling, Sabo walked up to the chef and pulled the rubber boy off of him. "What brings you here?" he asked. "You normally are started on cooking dinner at this time."

Thatch gave the same grin he gave Marco only a few short minutes ago. "I have a surprise for my straw hatted brother," he informed, kneeling down a bit to be in eye contact with the said boy. "Guess what I found?"

"Meat!" he exclaimed with a sparkling eyes. Of course he would say it was food.

Thatch shook his head. "Something better," he beamed.

Luffy tilted his head. "What's better than meat?" he asked in all honesty as he scratched his head.

"This," the red head stated, pulling the poster in front of himself.

Sabo's jaw hung open as Luffy's sparking eyes grew bigger. "400,000,000…" he said, the shadow of his hat making it seem as if he would say something serious. "When did they raise it?" His smile covered half his face in joy. Quite anticlimactic.

Sabo slapped his head. "This is not something to be excited about, Luffy," he shouted. "Now, I have to catch up to both you _and_ Ace." He hung his head in shame. Dammit, he was the older brother! His bounty should be higher.

"Looks like Lu beat you," Thatch teased as he rolled up the parchment again. "I gotta go give this to the blue chicken, so see you at dinner." With that said, he strode off to where he left the blond first mate.

Honestly, the red head was quite surprised at Sabo's comment, but, at the same time, he was not. He would think Sabo would be worried about his kid brother having the government want his head, yet he knew the trio of brothers wished to have high ranking names and bounties. They did say they strived for it since they were little kids.

Now, how would Oyaji react?

Eh, no need to ponder that now. Only time will tell, and with Marco being the loyal birdie he is, would go and tell Oyaji the moment he got a hold of the poster. He would know soon enough.

"Oi, Over-Glorified Turkey!" Thatch waved to the now irritated first division commander.

Marco's eye twitched. "Thatch," he growled. "Give me the damn poster, Fat Hair -yoi." The blond held out a hand.

Thatch scrunched up his nose. "You win this one, Fire Feathers," he pouted. The red head handed the poster to the waiting first mate. He would get his revenge latter. Maybe he could get Luffy and Ace to pitch in this time.

"Thank you -yoi," Marco sighed as he snatched the rolled up parchment and ignoring the nick name. He would make sure to double the paperwork of the fourth division this week for that last comment. One would think they would know better than to tease the first mate.

Not looking back, the blond made his way to Oyaji, whom sat in his usual spot on deck with the nurses fretting over his alcohol intake. "Oyaji -yoi," Marco called out to the towering man.

"Yes, brat," he replied while looking down on the smaller man. He would not admit it, but he was already pretty sure what the man needed to ask him. He had damn good hearing.

Marco held the parchment in front of him. "Thatch found this -yoi," he explained, giving the paper to his father-figure.

"Hmm," the king of the sea hummed and took the poster. He opened the poster, took one glance, and had a large smile. "What did the brat do this time?"

The first division commander shrugged his shoulders. "No clue, we haven't done much lately, either -yoi," he answered formally.

Whitebeard sent one last approving look at the poster before handing it back to his son. "Does Ace know?" he asked. He knew fully well how Ace would handle the new information. It would go similarly as with Sabo, just more killing intent towards the marines for making his dear baby brother a high target.

"He hasn't come back since searching the forest earlier -yoi," Marco stated simply. It was not the first time the second division commander took more than a day to get back from exploring. The only thing different this time around was the fact Luffy was not with the freckled man to get him lost.

Ace might be the carbon copy of his brother at some things, but sense of orientation was not one of them. Sabo was still better, though.

Whitebeard showed no emotions. "If the brat doesn't get back before dinner, get a search party," he ordered. He seemed to get to the point Marco did.

"That, uh," a voice said from beside Marco, "might not be necessary." Both high ranked men looked to see Thatch standing right next to Marco with a hand on the sword on his side.

The blond looked at Thatch. "The sleeping wreck returned -yoi?" he inquired, a bit pissed at the male for listing in on his conversation with his father.

Thatch grinned for the third time this hour. "He's back alright," he mused, "but with some _interesting _friends." The chef had a look of utter amusement and a slight hint of shock.

Marco blinked. "Please don't tell me they're more fire resistant animals -yoi," he pleaded to any God above. Oh, please Oda, not another gosh damn dragon. The first one was bad enough.

"Ah, unfortunately, no," the fourth division commander said. The red head just loved it when things annoyed Marco. There were reasons why the amount paperwork in the fourth division was so high. "But they are more intriguing, Firey Humming Bird."

Marco decided not to argue any farther, gave a salute to the captain, and headed out into the ends of the deck. Oyaji could probably see what the commotion was from his high placement. Perks of being a freakishly (not in a bad way, Oyaji) huge man.

The whole crew seemed to be crowding around the railing and looking at one specific spot in the middle of the vast sea. Marco and Thatch pushed their way through their fellow siblings to peer over the railing. Needless to say, what they saw shocked them.

Right there, right next to the _Moby Dick_, was a small –by pirate standards- ship with the head of a Sunflower Lion. There was an unrecognizable jolly roger upon it's sails, a smiling skull wearing a straw hat that reminded the males greatly of their own straw hatted brother.

"Oi! Fire Turkey!" shouted a voice from aboard the strange vessel. Looking down, everyone saw their lovable second division commander with a wide smile.

Marco glared at the freckled male. "Watch it, Dragonnapper -yoi!" he hissed.

Ace glared back with equal force. "That was _one_ time," the pirate prince defended, putting a fist in the air.

"Ace!" a familiar voice sang as a blur of red, blue, and yellow collided with the raven.

The body of the voice came into more focused vision, and many of the crew member's jaws dropped. Standing there was none other than Luffy.

Luffy with a major scar and war ridden eyes.

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><p><strong>Sorry if it seems a bit rushed. I kept forgetting Marco's -yoi. Please forgive me if I missed one. As always, I hope you enjoyed.<strong>

**'Till the next chapter**


	5. Whitebeards and Mugiwaras

**Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for the long wait! I kind of hit some writers block, again, but I am back.  
><strong>

**Also, my updates may take a longish time like this more often. My grades are dropping quite dramatically, so I need to start focusing on them a little more.**

**Not that anxiety helps at all.**

**Any who, onwards to the fanfic!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: One Piece and all it's glory belongs to Eiichiro Oda<br>**

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><p><em>"When do you think people die? When they are shot through the heart by the bullet of a pistol? No. When they are ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom!? No! It's when... they are forgotten. Even after I'm gone, my dream will come true. The ailing hearts of the people will be cured." ~Dr. Hiruluk<em>

Not-Ace was not happy, to say the least. First, he tells the odd crew the most guarded deal amongst the Whitebeard Pirates, but when he asks about their strange world, nothing! They kept tight lips about everything besides the fact Lu was a pirate captain and Sabo was somehow a revolutionary.

All the more reason to be suspicious of the so called alternates. They all held a look of knowing something they probably not say aloud. It made him angry, especially the look of longing and sorrow that tended to cross Lu's face when he first spots the freckled man.

The straw hatted boy and Sabo both had flashes of guilt cross their faces before being covered up by a joyous mask. Not-Ace could see it on the crewmates' faces as well, but at less of a magnitude.

Oh, if this was because they hurt his little brothers, there would be hell to pay and no ashes would remain.

Not-Ace sighed and looked over to the horizon. The story circle had disbanded a while ago, leaving the whitebeard commander to his thoughts and the endless sea.

"Still out here, eh?" observed a voice from behind. Ace did not even have to turn an inch to know who spoke. Not-Ace would never forget his brother's voice.

The freckled man looked to the side to see Sabo move and stand beside him. "Yeah," Not-Ace trailed off. Truth be told, he only wanted answers to the screwed up mess he found himself in.

Sabo let his eyes linger the cobalt blues. "You have questions, don't you?" It came out more as a statement, despite the wording.

Not-Ace side eyed the blond in shock. It was as if he had read his mind. Slowly, Not-Ace nodded his head in agreement.

"Then ask away," the revolutionary commanded the slightly older male. "I'll try and answer them, but there are some things I can't tell you due to … _reasons._" Sabo could not think of any other word besides 'reasons' to fit his comment.

Really, the whole Marineford chaos scarred them all, whether they were there or not.

Not-Ace glanced at the top hatted blond. "Why are you a revolutionary?" he asked. The second division commander would have rather asked where his other self was, but he was pretty sure that question was in no-no territory.

Sabo stiffened in place. "It's a bit personal, but I guess I could tell you," he admitted. "When we were little, I was taken by _father_," he hissed the word in distaste, "because he spotted us. To escape, I tried to sail away. Unfortunately, I ran into the Celestial Dragon's ship that was taking a visit, and they shot me down with a damn bazooka."

"When I thought I was surely done for, Dragon found me and saved me. He said that I would not be able to return, so I stayed and trained with him, so I could one day find you guys again."

Not-Ace's eyes widened. "So, that's what changed," he muttered softly as he looked at the scar on the younger's face.

"Huh?" Sabo questioned at Not-Ace's statement.

The pirate looked down at the railing he was leaning on. "In my world," he began to explain, "when we found out your father was looking for you, we staged a fake death. It involved a fire in Grey Terminal, and you almost didn't make it. You have the same scar, you know."

Not-Ace gestured to the scar on the younger male's face. He really hated that scar. It just reminded him of the endless pile of guilt and regret he had.

It never did fade away.

Sabo chuckled and rubbed his scar. "Guess it reminds me of what I have to protect," he sighed. "Anything else?"

"Where is my counterpart?" he found himself saying as he gave into the temptation. Not-Ace immediately bit his lip. Dammit, where was the control over his thoughts that Makino taught him?

Sabo visibly flinched and saddened at the question. "I wish I could tell you," he admitted after a few minutes, looking up at the now fully risen sun. "That is one Lu will have to tell you when he's ready."

The freckled man frowned. So, something bad did happen. Taking into account the blond's downcast mood, Not-Ace patted his back. "Thank you," he said softly, "for the answers, that is." With that, he walked off to another side of the deck.

They would reach the Moby Dick soon. If one looked closely, they would see the faint outline in the distant horizon.

* * *

><p>Not-Ace grinned wholeheartedly as he saw his crew, his <em>siblings<em>, crowd around the deck with eyes wide of amazement. This predicament would be fun to explain.

"Oi!" he greeted with a wave above his head. Luckily, the Strawhat crew managed to hold Lu (and Sabo, but he simply did not care) inside the kitchen, so they would not have the problem of explaining the situation so soon.

It had been almost two whole days since he had last seen his beloved crew. No matter how much the Mugiwara crew seemed to rival it, the insanity of the Whitebeard Pirates was what he felt at home with.

He nearly broke into a fit of laughter when he saw the shell shocked expression of Marco. "Oi! Fire Turkey!" he called out excitedly. Oh, how he loved to tease the first division commander.

Marco glared at the younger. "Watch it, Dragonnapper –yoi!" he warned with a bit of a mug look when he said the nickname.

Not-Ace glared back. "That was _one _time!" he defended himself, throwing a fist in the air. You bring a dragon back after exploring _once _and suddenly you are a dragon kidnapper.

Marco just did not understand.

Before either could make another word, a sudden scream of "Ace!" resounded throughout the ship, and the freckled man was toppled over by a straw hatted boy.

Not-Ace groaned and pushed the rubber boy off of him. "Dammit, Lu," he cursed. "You were supposed to stay _inside_ the ship!" Shit, now he had to explain this mess before he even got a 'hello.'

"But, Ace," Luffy pouted as he quivered his bottom lip at the older male. "I want to play!" He was about to grab the man's arm to drag him to play, but he noticed the ship he was next to.

The rest of the crew plus a revolutionary were escaping the kitchen at that point and came out with expressions of awe of the Moby Dick.

"Cool! You rebuilt it!" Luffy exclaimed cheerfully with stars in his eyes. None of the crew members dared to correct the boy. They never mentioned anything about that cursed war.

Not-Ace looked about ready to question the statement, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Sabo. Another question left on hold, eh?

"Lu," Not-Ace finally spoke up, "this is my crew." Hopefully that was good enough for Sabo. He learned a long time ago that one should never anger the blond unless they wanted a Haki infused pipe to the head.

"Oi!" the irritated voice of a certain blond haired first mate shouted trough the scene. Once Marco was sure that he had all eyes on him, he continued. "Luffy, weren't you just training with Sabo? How did you get here so quickly –yoi?"

Not-Ace threw his head back. "This is going to take a while," he groaned. Bringing his head back up, he put the orange cowboy hat –that fell on the floor via pervious action- back upon his head. He really was not looking forward to explaining everything.

He seriously doubted that Luffy would be of any help.

Well, at least now he knew that this Mugiwara crew was not scamming him and hurt his brothers. Marco did just say that _his _Luffy was training with Sabo. It was the younger blond's day today.

As Not-Ace motioned for the other universe crew to follow him on to the Moby Dick so explaining would be easier, Marco shouted a protest. "Ace, who are these people, and what happened to Lu?" his voice was ruff and frustrated. The phoenix motioned to the scar on the straw hatted boy's chest.

Sabo sighed in the background. No one ever noticed him.

"Oi," Not-Ace interrupted the older blond's rant. "Give us a sec; I have to speak to Oyaji."

That shut Marco up. Not one crew member would ever stand in the way of a fellow sibling that needed to speak to Oyaji. Never.

Not-Ace grinned in relief and guided the Mugiwaras to the Moby Dick. His smirk was somewhat cocky. There were two persons he was waiting for his crew to see. It was neither Luffy nor Sabo. No, who he had in mind would make much more priceless expressions. With Sabo and Lu, faces would be protective and ready to fight.

He wanted to see shocked and humorous ones.

"What the hell?" screeched many on deck when the walking and talking Brook made his way on board. If a skeleton could, the living dead would have a wide smile.

And then there was Chopper, who, naturally, was trying to hide behind Zoro's leg. Not that it helped at all, he never did hide the correct way.

"_Gomu Gomu no…"_ those few words sent the last few members on the smaller ship into panic. "_Rocket!_"

Many colorful curses sang loudly when rubbery arms attached to the railing of the Moby Dick and flung them up onto the ship. If they were to describe what it felt like, it would most likely be like being thrown by Usopp's slingshot, just in a more careless way.

"What the hell, Luffy?" Nami growled, punching the Gomu Gomu no Mi user's head. "You don't just do that!" Fellow members mumbled in agreement.

Luffy pouted as he rubbed the newly formed bump on his head. "That hurts, Nami," he complained, standing up with the bump quickly fading.

The rubber boy finally took notice of the draw dropped men surrounding him. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" he greeted with his usual wide grin, white teeth sparkling.

Just as Marco opened his mouth to speak, Not-Ace stepped in. "I can explain!" he exclaimed. "But I need to speak to Oyaji first."

* * *

><p>The talk with Oyaji did not take as long as Not-Ace had thought it would. The elder man had been in the New World long enough to expect the unexpected. In reality, Oyaji Shirohige seemed to consider this normal compared to what he had experienced in the vast sea.<p>

The elder had told the other worldly crew that they could stay as long as they wished as long as they did not harm his sons. Luffy immediately promised because 'Ace likes this old guy, so he will protect them.' None of the Mugiwara crew found this odd, but Not-Ace sure did.

Oyaji saw the war tainted eyes of the young boy, so he already had a theory of what happened on the straw hatted boy's side. He was not about to say something, though. The rubber man could tell him on his own.

Then came the debate on how to tell the whole crew. Not-Ace was no way in hell going to repeat everything over and over again for the huge crew. No doubt would everyone would ask questions and interrupt him, and he just did not have the patience for that.

So, in the end, Oyaji and Not-Ace decided to tell all the commanders, and, from there, they would tell their respective divisions.

Not-Ace was going to scream if he had to tell it more than once to his division.

There was also the two Luffys and two Sabos issue. Each side refused to call their Sabo and Luffy with a Not in front like the Mugiwaras had with Ace- not that they really needed to anyways. After a while of curses sent to each side, they had decided on call the Mugiwaras' Sabo 'Revolutionary' and Luffy 'Lu'.

Not-Ace did not take kindly that he could not call _his _Luffy Lu. That was his nick name for his little brother dammit. And just because he was calling Luffy 'Lu' on the Thousand Sunny did not mean a thing.

Oh well, too late now.

As Not-Ace got up from his perch in the semicircle that was created to explain the situation, realization what he had to do now hit him in the face. "Shit," he groaned. Not only did he have to say everything _again_, but he had to explain it to Sabo and Luffy. Luffy would be accepting as always, but Not-Ace knew for sure Sabo was going to be a negative little shit again.

Another bridge he was going to burn when he got there. Sadly, that bridge was only a few minutes away.

Life never did take kindly to the son of a demon.

"Ace!" sang the voice of a more mature younger brother. Not-Ace barely had enough time to brace himself for the sudden impact. "Ace~"

"What, Lu?" he asked, a bit irritated at that. He really should not procrastinate as much as he was on telling his crew about the Mugiwaras.

Lu ginned his usual wide grin and laughed. "I want to meet other me, of course," he explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was, but Not-Ace was not about to admit that.

"Ok," was all Not-Ace had said. He really did not know what to say.

In the distance, he could see Revolutionary shake his head. Lu was now Not-Ace's problem, and he was going to enjoy the tiny amount of Lu-less time. Times like these were rare and were far and wide.

And he was sure Lu would be back in less than five minutes, begging for food.

Not-Ace sighed and plucked the younger boy off of him. "They'll be in the training grounds," he pointed out, motioning for they nineteen-year-old to follow him. It was only a few minutes away from this deck anyways.

Lu cheered and jumped on the freckled commander's back. "Yosh!" he shouted as he waited for Not-Ace to begin in the direction he earlier motioned at. The boy was grinning like an excited two-year-old.

Not-Ace swayed a bit to regain his balance with the new weight. He should have expected this, really. This was _Luffy _after all. Alternate universe or not, Luffy would act like an overgrown child- much to the displeasure to those around him.

Muttering something about ridiculous rubber boys, Not-Ace shifted Lu up in a more practical piggyback position and walked off to the training grounds. He could jog, but he just was too tired and Lu was laughing quite loudly in his ears.

Oh, the amount of shit he puts up with for the rubber brain.

He maneuvered through the large crowds of people who were making their way to their division commanders with ease. Only the second division stood awkwardly, not knowing where to go. Their captain was running in the exact opposite way of the meeting area with Lu on his back.

It did not take long to reach the other duo of brothers who were looking around in confusion. Poles tightly in their hands, the two co commanders seemed to be judging their surroundings- most likely Sabo's suggestions. Well, probably. One never knows with Luffy when his nakama are involved.

Not-Ace smirked before giving out a loud 'Ahem' to catch the attention of the curious boys. Startled, they turned quickly to face a freckled commander with a smiling rave on his back.

"Huh, Ace," Sabo muttered as he pieced together the situation. "Wait…" he jerked his head back and forth from the two Luffys. Man, his neck hurt now. Probably not his best idea.

"Shishishi," Lu giggled when he jumped off the elder male's back. "Hi, other me!" he greeted happily, holding out a hand for the other rubber boy to shake.

Luffy tilted his head to the side in confusion. "You're me?" he questioned. When the scarred captain nodded his similar head, stars sparkled in the other young boy's eyes. "So cool!"

As the children danced around, Sabo directed his attention to Not-Ace. "What shit did you get involved in, this time?" he inquired, a Haki infused pipe twirling through his fingers.

"Uh," the other commander stuttered. "Well, I'm not quite sure myself. All I really know is that that Luffy-" he pointed to the one with the open cardigan "-is from an alternate universe."

It was at that moment, Not-Ace realized how crazy that sounded.

"Mhm," Sabo hummed. "You know, I really shouldn't be surprised. This is the New World. Insanity is what we signed up for."

Not-Ace blinked. Well, this was a better reaction than he had expected. Was it just him, or was everyone oddly accepting lately?

Must be the Lu influence.

"Well," Not-Ace began, "he has an entire crew and another you. It was decided that the other Luffy will go by 'Lu,' and your counterpart will go by 'Revolutionary.' Don't ask me, ask him."

Sabo only nodded and put his pipe against the wall. "Oi Luffy! Lu!" he called out to the energetic straw hat wears. "Meat." Instantly, both rubber teens whipped their heads towards the blond. "The mess hall should be open by now."

Without saying a word, Luffy grabbed his counterpart's wrist and darted off towards the scent of meat. Not-Ace and Sabo chuckle softly as they follow the dust that was left in the wake of the two younger boys.

"Sanji~" Lu chirped when he wiggled his arm free of his alternate self's death grip. He ran ahead of the other boy in search of his blond chef. "Sanji. Food."

It did not take long at all for the Mugiwara captain to reach the front deck. There, most of his was scattered about, doing their own thing. A large, toothy grin plastered upon his face when he noticed Sanji cooking on a makeshift grill on the shore nearby.

"Sanji makes the best food," the supernova informed the honorary Whitebeard Pirate. He held a prideful stance when he looked at the chef who was furiously working on creating a meal that would last three D's.

This was Sanji's worst nightmare come true. One Luffy was enough, but now he had to feed two _and_ an older brother. Even though he never actually had to feed the pirate prince, he knew damn well that the whitebeard commander ate almost the same about as his adoptive brother.

Hopefully, Sabo would not be the same.

Sanji glanced at his captain and let out an irritated grumble. "You can wait until it's done, rubber baka," he shouted, flipping the meat on the grill.

Lu pouted. "Meanie Sanji," he whined as he went to find something fun to do on the massive ship.

Maybe he could play tag with Ace again!

* * *

><p><strong>And there goes another chapter. Again, sorry for the long update.<strong>

**I have a basic idea of where this story is headed, but my motivation likes to hang an inch out of reach when idea hit me in the face.**

**There's also the fact I never thought people would read this fic- it's my first, it was made mostly to get a plot bunny out of my head, and, frankly, I have no confidence in my writing. If you see anything wrong in my stories, please point it out. Thanks!**

**You guys rock!**

**Until next time!**


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